Rewards offered for identifying vulnerabilities in its cloud and artificial intelligence technologies
Microsoft has announced the Zero Day Quest, an expanded bug bounty initiative offering $4 million in potential rewards for identifying vulnerabilities in its cloud and artificial intelligence technologies.
According to Forbes, the program seeks to incentivize high-impact security research while strengthening collaborations with external researchers.
The challenge includes a unique research component where vulnerability submissions under specific scenarios are eligible for multiplied bounty awards. Participants may also qualify for an onsite hacking event at Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters in 2025.
Additionally, Microsoft has introduced doubled AI bounty payments and direct access to its AI engineers and penetration testers.
Tom Gallagher, vice president of engineering at the Microsoft Security Response Center, stressed that the program extends beyond discovering vulnerabilities. "It’s about fostering new and deepening existing partnerships between the Microsoft Security Response Center, product teams, and external researchers."
Written by
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with 25 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 17 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Forum, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and the National Cyber Security Show, and served as editor of SC Media UK, Infosecurity Magazine and IT Security Guru. He was also an analyst with 451 Research and a product marketing lead at Tenable.
